Cristiano Ronaldo is slowly realising what life is like as an ageing football star. Photo / AP
Cristiano Ronaldo is slowly realising what life is like as an ageing football star. Photo / AP
OPINION:
Cristiano Ronaldo should never play for Manchester United again. The only way back is an apology – a proper apology not the self-serving one he posted on Instagram – and even then United have to decide if it is worth it. Which it is not.
Does anyone really think that what happened against Tottenham Hotspur is a one-off? Ronaldo refused to play, walked off down the touchline and left the stadium.
Three days earlier he had sat in the dugout shaking his head after being substituted. It was about me, me, me.
At what point did Ronaldo – 38 next February – think about United? At what point did he tell himself “Actually they are playing really well and I should accept that, congratulate them and enjoy a little bit of the glory as I am being asked to go on”?
The ultimate irony is that one of the biggest reasons for bringing Ronaldo back was to raise the level of professionalism at United. And here was the absolute opposite of that. Ronaldo acted like a petulant Sunday league player. Or a kid who is taking his ball home.
The best for both parties is that Ronaldo goes once the January transfer window opens. Erik ten Hag is prepared to let him leave and has been consistent on that so Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has to find a deal that works for his client and for the club.
It is a big if. Former United players, and former Ronaldo team-mates, have claimed that the club turned down multiple offers in the summer once the forward made it clear he wanted to leave.
If only. United did not receive any bids for Ronaldo that interested him or them. Mendes asked Chelsea, Bayern Munich and a host of Champions League clubs. But no-one bit.
Cristiano Ronaldo is quickly learning that he must get used to being a super-sub for Manchester United. Photo / Photosport
Maybe Ronaldo should offer to tear up his contract?
His best hope now is to knuckle down, target playing well for Portugal at the World Cup and hope that convinces a big club to take him when the window opens.
Refusing to play is taboo. What is interesting is the reaction from within the United dressing room. It is understood that Ten Hag’s decision to exclude Ronaldo from the squad to face Chelsea, with him banished from first-team training, has gone down well with the players.
Team-mates are tired of Ronaldo’s antics while it is a welcome show of strength or, rather, decisive action from Ten Hag whose own standing will have risen because of the clear way he has dealt with the situation. Ten Hag has not pushed Ronaldo out of United. Ronaldo is doing that himself.
In theory United had that with Jose Mourinho but it became petty and personal. Ten Hag is not like that and the players appreciate how he has handled Ronaldo without making it vindictive or emotional. United certainly did not have it with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who, embarrassingly, said that Ronaldo could play basically play where he wanted when he signed. Solskjaer was never going to control Ronaldo.
The line that is often trotted out is that where would United be without Ronaldo’s goals? He scored 18 times in the Premier League last season – almost a third of United’s 57 league goals as they finished sixth. The season before when Ronaldo was not at the club? United scored 73 goals – 16 more – and finished second. Personal statistics do not really mean much in a team game when the team performs worse.
Apparently Ronaldo has been shocked at some of the lax behaviour within the United dressing room. How ironic. If true, he has done little to sort that out and, in any case, a culture is set by the club and the manager and not by a player. Especially a player who has given the impression that his own personal milestones and achievements are more important than the team’s.
The fact is that, in the impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham, United set the standard they want to maintain. And that was achieved without Ronaldo on the pitch. It was no coincidence.
Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford, in itself rail-roaded through because of a fear that he might join Manchester City instead, has simply not worked. Now is a time to think about the most acceptable exit strategy – for him and United – and how quickly that can be achieved.
It is in no-one’s interests to prolong it and Ronaldo owes it to United to help them find the most acceptable way out for him to try and preserve his legendary status. Even Ronaldo’s greatest apologists have to acknowledge that he has gone too far. Whether that is born of frustration or his own petulance is debatable. What should not be is whether he has a future at United. It should be over.
